Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1887-11-25
ALLAN QUARTERNAlN.
OR
A BROWNING CITY

"Ay, Macumazahn, mine is a red trade,
yet it is better and more honest than some.
Better is it to Stay man in fair fight than
to suck out his hearts blood in buying and
selling, and usury after your white fash
ion. Many man have I slain, yet is there
never one that | should fear To look in
the face again: ay, many are there VINO
once were friends and whom / should be
right glad to snuff with. But there, there!
thou hast thy ways and mine: each 10 his
own people and his own place. The high
veIdt OK will die in the fat bush country,
and SO is il with me, Macumazahn. / am
rough, l know IT, and when my blood IS
warm know not what do, but yet VIII
thou be sorry when the night swallows me,
and am utterly lost in the blackness, Tor
in thy heart thou lowest me. my father,
Macumazahn the fox, though be nanght
but a brokcI-down Zulu war-dog-a chief
for whom there Is no room in his own kraal
an outcast and wanderer in strange
places; ay ! love thee, MacumaZahn. for
we have grown gray together, and there
IS that between us that cannot be seen, and
yet is too strong for breaking"
LAY, old wolf" said. thine is strange
love. Thou wouldst split me to the chin IL
/ stood in thy path tomorrow"
''Thou speakest truth, Macumazahn;t that
would If il came in the way of duty; but
! should love thee all the same when the
blow had gone fairly home. Is there any
chance of some fighting here. Macuma-
Zahn2" he went on, in an insinuatlng voice.
"Methought that what saw last night
did show that the two great Queens were
vcxed one with another. Else had the
Lady of the Night not brought that dag
ger with her"
! agreed with him that it showed that
more or less pique and irritation existed
between the ladies, and told him how things
stood, and that they were quarrelling over
Incubu.
'Ah, Is IL so?" he exclaimed springing
up in delight; then will there be war as
surely as the rivers rise in the ralns-War
to the end. Women love the last blow rs
well as the last word, and when they fight
for love they are pitiless ms wounded bur
falO. See thou MacumaZahn, woman
win swim through blood 70 her desire, ana
think nought Of it. With these eyes have
/ seen It once and twice also. All, Ma
cumazahn. we shall see this fine place OF
houses burning yet. and hear the battle
cries come ringing up the street. After all,
! have not wandered for nothing. Can this
folk fight, think ye2"
Just then Sir Henry Joined us. and Good
arrived, too. from another direction, look
ing very pale aud hollOw-eyed. The mo-
ment Umslupogaas saw the latter he stop
ped his bloodthirsty talk and greeted him.
"Ah, B0ugwan," he cried, greeting TO
thee, InkoOs, thou art surely weary. Dldst
thou hunt too much yesterday" Then,
without waiting for an answer, he went on:
"Iistcn, BDugwan, and ! will tell thee IA
story: it IL about woman, therefore VIII
thou hear It, is it not so?
There was a man and he had brother,
and there was T. woman who loved the
mans brother aud was beloved of the man.
But the mans brother had favorlte wife
and loved not the woman, and he made q
mock of her. Then the woman, being very
cunning and herce-hcartcd for revenge,
took counsel with herself and said to the
man, 4 love thee, and If thou wilt make
war upon thy brother will marry thee.
And he knew il was a lie, yet because or
hg.grcat love OF the woman, who was very
fair, did he listen to her words and made
war. And when many people had been
killed, his brother sent 10 him, saying,
why slaycst thou me? What hurt have |
done unto theeY From my youth up have
/ not loved thee? When thou vast little
did not nurture thee, and have we not
gone down % war together and divided the
cattle, girl by girl, OK 10y OK, and COW by
cow Why slayest thou me, my brother,
son Of my own m0ther|
Then the mans heart was heavy, and
he knew that his path was evil, aud he put
aside the tempting of the woman and
ceased To make war on his brother and
lived at peace In the same kranl with him.
And after time the woman came To hun
and said. i have lost the past, | Will be thy
WIFE Aud in his heart hc knew that it
was Il lie, and that she thought the evil
thing, yet because of his love did he take
her 10 wife.
And the very night that they were wed,
when the man was plunged MO deep
sleep did the woman arise and take his AK
from his hand and creep into the hut Of his
brother and Stay him in his rest. Then
did she stink back like a gurgCd liuness
and place the thong of he red AK back up
on his wrist aud go her ways.
And ut tho dawniug the people came
shouting. T.ousta Is slain In the night
and they came unto the hut of the man
and there he lHy asleep, and by him was the
rcd nX. Then did they remember the war
and say, 10! he hath of n surety slain his
brother and they would have taken and
Killed him. but he rose and fled swiftly,
and M he ieeted 10y he slew the woman.
But death could not wine ont the evil
she had DONE and on him rested the weight
of all her sin. Therefore is he an outcast
and his name n sCorn among his own peo-
pie; for on him, and him only, resteth the
burden of her who betrayed. And. there
fore, does nc wander affair, without a kraal
and without an OK or n wife, and there
fore will he die afar like n STRICKEN buck
and his name he aCCurscd from generation
to generation, in that the people say that
he slew his brother, Lousta, by trcachery
in the night-tme.n
The old Zulu paused and saw that he
was deeply ngitated by his own story.
Presently he lifted his head, which he had
bowed To his breast, and went ON:
Il WAS that man, lIougwan Out was
that man, and now harI thou! Even rs |
nm SO wilt thou be--a tool a play-thing an
OK OF burden To carry the evil deeds Of an
other. listenl When thou didst creep af-
ter the Lady of the Night Twas hard upon
thy track. When she struck thee with the
knife in the sleeping place Of the White
Queen, was there also; when thou ddst
let her slip away like a snake in the stones,
saw thee, and knew that she had be-
witchcd thee and that n true man had
uhan +oncd the TRUTH and he who nfOre-
time loved a straight path had taken a
crooked way. Forgive me- my father, il
my words are sharp, but out of a fun heart
are they snoken. See her no more or shalt
thou 90 down with honor To the grave.
Else because of the beauty of q woman
that wearcth as a garment of fur shalt
thou be even rs am, and perchance with
more cause. | have said.
Throughout this long and eloquent ad-
uresS food had been perfectly silent but
when the tale began To shape itself so aptly
20 his own case, he colorcd up, and when
he learned that what had passed between
him and Soras had been overseen, he was
evidently much distressed
II must say he said, with a bitter little
laugh, that | scarcely thought that
should live to he taught my duty bv a Zulu.
but Il Just shows what we can come to-
wonder If YOU fellows can understand how
humiliatcd feel, and the hittereSt mart of
IL Is that ! deserve it all. OF course |
should have handed her over TO the guard
but could not, and AT Is fact | let
her 30 anG promised tO say nothing, moro
IL the shame 10 me. She told me that il I
would side with her she would marry mo
and make me king of this country: but,
thank goodness, | did find the heart To saw
that even to marry her | could not desert
my friends And now YOU can do what
you like; deserved il all. All l have to
say is that hope yen may never love a
woman with all your heart and then be so
sorely tempted of her" And he turned to
GO
Look here, old fellow" said Sir Henry.
lust stop n minute | have Il little tale to
tell YOU, too" Aud he proceeded to mar
rate what had taken place ON the previous
day between SOrais and himself
This was n finishing stroke to poor Good
II Is not pleasant 10 any man to learn that
he has been made tool Of; but when the
circumstances are as peculiarly atrucious
as in the present case it is about as bitter
a pill as anybody can be called ON to swal-
low.
DO you know" he said. II think that
between you, you fellows have about work
cd cure" and he turned and walked
away, and for one felt very sorry for him.
All, II Che moths would always carefully
avoid tAe candle, how few burned wings
there would bel
That day was Court day, when the
QueeGs sat in the great hall and received
petiuSus, discussed laws, etc, and thither
we adjourned shortly afterward On our
way we Were joined 10y Good who was
looking exceedingly depressed, aud no
wonder
When we got into the hall Nvleptha was